Choices
by mattnme04
Summary: Three-Shot TG Story. One little choice can make all the difference. Will Troy and Gabriella make the right choices to guide them to where they're supposed to be in the future?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Troy and I have been friends for a few years now. When we met, we hit it off almost instantly. Throughout the time that we have been friends, we have gotten to know each other very well. Our friendship was one of the strongest relationships I had in my life. Sure, I was close to my mom. But sometimes mom just isn't the person that I can go to, to talk about certain things. Sometimes you just need that special friend you can rely on who will always be there to listen when times get rough or when you just need to laugh.

Troy was that person for me.

He had always been my shoulder to cry on when something went wrong. When my grandpa died, he was there. It was through this event that I fell in love with my best friend.

No friend had even gone to the lengths that Troy did. Troy was always right there to make sure I was ok. When I was alone after the death, he was telling me it was a bad idea to be alone and stayed on the phone with me until he knew I was ok. He was right there with me at the funeral, constantly trying to comfort me by whispering in my ear that it was going to be ok and that he would always be there for me. Other friends had given me their sympathies and gone on. I appreciated them as well. But none of them matched the kindness I received from Troy.

As time went on, Troy and I only seemed to grow closer. The more I got to know him, the harder I fell in love with him.

My biggest mistake, however, was never telling him how I truly felt about him. So when he ended up dating, I was heartbroken. I tried to show my support and continued to keep up the friendship we had, but I could feel a strain between us. Things just weren't the same as before. I felt like I was losing a friend.

But when Troy's girlfriend broke up with him, he was the heartbroken one, and I couldn't help but return everything he had ever done for me. I tried to be there for him for every struggle he faced after the break-up. He said he thought he was falling in love with this girl and just couldn't figure out what exactly went wrong.

As he continued to get over the girl, we continued to grow closer again and rebuild the friendship to a stronger bond than what we had before. I felt my heart slowly mend back together, but told myself not to let myself get attached again.

However, when Troy decided he wanted to start dating again and found himself a girlfriend, I realized just how close I had allowed myself to get and felt my heart crumbling again.

As the months went by, I slowly pieced myself back together and got over Troy. Contact with Troy ceased and I found myself searching for that friendship once again. I began going out with friends and meeting new people, searching for what I had always thought I would never find again. That's when I ran into Matthew.

Matthew was a guy who I had went to high school with at one point before coming to East High. We had never really gotten to know each other very well and were more like acquaintances throughout the time we attended school together. We had a mutual friend and that was about as far as our time together went.

But when we ran into each other one day at the mall, we caught up on all that had happened since last seeing each other and decided to exchange numbers so we could meet up for coffee or something sometime.

The coffee date soon turned into a dinner date which led to more dates. Matthew and I couldn't believe we had so much in common nor figure out why we never got to know each other better in high school.

Just when I thought life was going great and things were starting to piece back together, Troy called me telling me he missed me. We talked for a few minutes before making plans to get together to hang out and catch up.

When we met for coffee, Troy told me he was still with his girlfriend Sara, and that things were going great. He couldn't be happier. I wasn't sure what to say to that. As he told me about things with her, I felt myself growing jealous, thought I couldn't be sure where those feelings came from. I shouldn't be jealous of them. They were happy and that's what mattered. I had Matt and I was happy with him. I should be happy for them.

But I soon realized that all the feelings I had once felt for Troy and just been buried, and not too deeply. They were still there and they were beginning to resurface.

We continued to talk for a while before both saying we should be going but that we would talk again soon. We began talking every few days, trying to stay in contact better than last time. A few weeks after our meeting, Troy called me one evening to inform me that he had proposed to Sara. I couldn't believe it! I ended up crying myself to sleep that night.

As the weeks went by, I felt myself becoming more and more unhappy in the current situation. Every time I talked to Troy, he wanted to talk about his upcoming wedding. That was the last thing I wanted to talk about. I tried to be happy for him, but it was proving to be very difficult.

I also tried to be happy with Matt. I couldn't have asked for a better boyfriend. Matt was the perfect guy. He treated me better than anyone ever had. But the more I thought about it, he just wasn't the guy for me. He wasn't the guy I wanted to be with. I couldn't see myself with him forever.

He had different ideas, though. On one of our Friday night dates, he made it really special. I had planned to talk to him that night about how I was feeling, but I felt bad after all the trouble he had went to, to make the night special. He had made reservations at a really fancy restaurant and had taken me for a walk through the park afterwards. It was a beautiful night and I had thoroughly enjoyed the evening. But my heart wasn't fully into it.

As we were finishing our walk, Matt stopped, pulling on my hand to stop with him. He looked at me, and I could see in his eyes just how much he cared for me. It made me sick to know that I didn't feel that much for him.

"Gabriella, I love you so much. I just can't believe that someone as wonderful as you would care for me at all." _Oh gosh…_ "I have loved every minute that I have spent with you and I know that work has kept me really busy lately and we haven't had much time together. But I want that to change. I would love nothing more than to be able to spend a great deal more time with you. I guess what I'm saying is…" He knelt down in front of me as I covered my mouth with my hand. "…Gabriella Montez, will you marry me?"

I couldn't believe it. We were on total opposite ends of the spectrum with our feelings. How did we get here?

He just knelt there, still looking at me as he held the ring out for me to see. It was beautiful, but I was having my doubts. Could I marry him and truly be happy?

"Gabriella, please say something…"

"C-Can I think about it?"

Hurt flashed through his eyes before he gave me a small smile. "Of course. I don't want you to feel rushed into it. Take all the time you need."

"Thanks," I said quietly. He handed me the ring before standing up and kissing my forehead.

"Just remember how much I love you."

I forced a smile on my face. "Don't worry, I will."

A week went by. It was the night before Troy and Sara's wedding. I had finally told Matt I couldn't marry him because my heart just wasn't fully in it. He was hurt when we went our separate ways, but I couldn't have been more relieved to have told him how I truly felt.

Troy and I decided to get together the night before his wedding to hang out one last time before his big day. I had told him about Matt's proposal, but I hadn't told him yet about me turning Matt down on the offer.

"Too bad you didn't get engaged sooner. We could have had a double wedding." Troy laughed. I tried to laugh, but didn't really find it too funny. "I mean, you did tell him yes, right?"

I looked down at my hands that I was wringing in my lap. "Well…actually…." I looked up to see Troy frowning at me. "I told him I couldn't." I held up my left hand so he could see my bare hand.

"What? Why?"

"My heart wasn't completely in it. I couldn't marry someone that I would never be truly happy with. And I couldn't marry someone who isn't the person my heart is really set on."

Troy dropped the subject but had a strange expression on his face. Was that relief? But there was also something else there. I could see the questions in his eyes, but he never asked them. Instead, we decided to watch a movie and Matt was never mentioned again. I eventually said goodnight and went home, telling him I'd see him tomorrow. Even with as hard as it was going to be to watch the one man that I could see myself with get married, I had to be there to support him. I couldn't not go…

The next afternoon I showed up for Troy's wedding. The people sitting around me kept giving me weird looks because I was bawling my eyes out. I told them I was okay and that I was just so happy for the couple. However, I couldn't have been more heartbroken. I was watching the love of my life marry someone who wasn't me. It shouldn't be like this.

Troy and his groomsmen took their places next to the pastor at the front of the church. The music started playing and as the mothers were taking their seats and the bridesmaids were finding their way down the aisle to their places, Troy looked over and locked eyes with me, questions still floating in them. I tried to put on a brave face and give him a smile, but I know it looked strained.

Just as the flower girl was finishing, Troy glanced to the back of the church where Sara would be appearing any moment. But instead of a bright smile on his face, Troy's showed panic. The next thing I knew, Troy was leaning over to whisper something to the pastor and making his way out a side door. The groomsmen were all asking the pastor where he went and were whispering back and forth.

I needed to know he was alright, so I quietly made my way out of my seat and through the door Troy had just exited. I soon found him outside pacing back and forth, running a hand through his hair.

"Hey," I said quietly, hoping not to startle him.

He looked over at me and for the first time, I saw tears in his eyes. "What am I doing, Gabriella? I'm supposed to be in there marrying this amazing girl right now. But I can't. I knew I couldn't. But instead of telling her this days before the wedding, I leave her at the altar. What kind of person am I?"

I closed the distance between us and took his hands in mine, urging him to look at me. When he finally looked me in the eye, I spoke. "You, Troy Bolton, are a wonderful person. I love everything about you, and Sara does, too. That's why she wants to marry you. Where is all this coming from? Why can't you marry her?"

Troy looked away before letting out a long sigh. "Because I'm in love with someone else," he said, looking at the ground.

I dropped his hands. I had always hoped that he didn't actually feel for Sara that way, but my hopes were shot down when I found out he proposed. But now, it hurt even worse to find out that even though he didn't love Sara, he was still in love with another woman.

"Troy, how did this happen? Have you been cheating on Sara?"

"What? No!" Troy started his pacing again. "I just…I love this woman so much and it's just happened that way. I never thought I could be with her until recently and she finally gave me hope that maybe…just maybe we could finally be together. I've screwed up so many chances that I had to finally be with her…." Troy stopped and finally looked at me. "…and now, I want so desperately to be with her and I don't want to screw up that opportunity by marrying someone I don't actually love."

I nodded and looked down, my heart still breaking into even tinier pieces. I held the tears I felt surfacing in check before replying. "You need to tell Sara that, then. Don't just walk out on her. She deserves more than that. I'm sure she's in there crying right now, after realizing that you were actually there when the doors opened so she could see you. At least talk to her. Be honest with her. If she meant anything to you, you'll give her that."

Troy nodded, wiping the tears that had escaped his eyes and turned around to walk back inside, but not before giving me a hug. "Thanks, Gabriella." I watched him walk back inside before I turned to walk to my car, knowing I had to get out of there before the tears started in again. I couldn't handle any more strange looks.

I drove home in silence, silent tears streaming down my face. When I got home, I changed into some comfortable clothes before laying down on my bed and letting the tears go. There was no more holding back. I had broken up with Matt because of my love for Troy. But where had that gotten me? Troy had found someone else to love and that still left me all alone with a broken heart over the one man I would never have.

**Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

About a week later, I found myself packing up my apartment. I had asked for a job transfer to New York. I had some family there, and I found a place to live. I decided that instead of staying here where everything reminded me of Troy and made me sad, I would go to New York and start fresh where I could be with family that I hardly ever get to see.

I hadn't talked to Troy since I left the wedding. He had tried calling me a couple of times, but I couldn't face him just yet. I knew that he was probably busy the rest of the time trying to get the woman of his dreams, and I couldn't bare to hear all about it.

I had just packed up another box and decided it would be the last for the day so I could take a break. I sat down on the couch and looked around me. Boxes were stacked everywhere. I decided to call my mom while I sat there. She was expecting me in New York next week.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hey, Mija. How's the packing coming?"

I smiled at her question. Of course she would jump straight to that topic. She was very excited to get me to New York so I could spend more time with her. "It's going, Mom," I laughed. "I don't have much to pack now. Mainly just my clothes and stuff like that. The moving truck should be here tomorrow to load up everything."

"When are they expecting you to report to your job?"

"Not for another week. So once I make it up there, I'll have a few days to unpack and get settled before having to worry about being at work."

I looked over at the door as I heard a knock. I got up and walked in that direction.

"Ok. Well I guess I will see you on Monday when you get here. I can't wait to see you, sweetheart!"

I opened the door, the phone still to my ear as I stared in shock at the person on the other side of the door. "I can't wait to see you either. I have to go, though. Someone's here. I'll see you in a couple of days."

"Ok, sweetheart. I love you."

"Love you, too. Bye." I ended our call as I stared at my best friend, Troy Bolton, standing there looking as handsome as ever. Would I ever be able to see him as a friend again? And what was that in his eyes? Hurt? Confusion?

"What are you doing here?" I asked, surprised by his presence.

Troy looked shocked by my question. "Am I not allowed to stop and see you now? Especially when you won't answer or return my phone calls?"

"No!" Troy's eyebrows shot up at my outburst. "I mean…that's not what I meant. Come in. I just…wasn't expecting you." I stepped back from the doorway, allowing him to step inside. I shut the door and led him through my maze of boxes to the couch.

Troy paused before sitting down, looking around him at all my boxes. He finally looked back at me, frowning. "What's going on? Are you moving?"

"Uh…yeah…actually I am."

"Oh…so…did you find a better apartment? House?"

"Umm…actually…I was wanting to talk to you at some point about this, but I just didn't know how. I guess now would be the time…"

"What's going on, Gabriella?" Troy asked. "Does this have something to do with the conversation you were having when I got here? I heard you say something about seeing someone in a couple days. Did you and Matt get back together?"

"Troy, sit down…please." Troy sat down slowly next to me and waited for me to answer his questions. "Troy," I said, reaching over to take one of his hands in mine. "It's not so much about the apartment that I will be living in. Actually, I got transferred at work. I'm moving because of my job."

"What? Why? Why would they do that? Didn't you tell them you'd rather be here?"

I looked down, unable to look him in the eyes any longer. I felt a finger on my chin as Troy lifted my face back up to him. "What's this all about, Gabriella?"

I felt tears spring to my eyes, but knew I just had to get it all out. "I didn't tell them that, Troy."

"Why not? You could have fought them. What ever happened to what you wanted?"

"Troy, I didn't fight them because I asked to be transferred."

"What? Why would you do that?" I lowered my gaze again and didn't respond. "Gabriella? Why do you want to be transferred? I thought you were happy here."

I nodded. "I thought I was too."

Troy brought my gaze back to his once again. "What changed?"

I couldn't lie to him. "The guy I'm in love with isn't in love with me. He loves someone else and there's nothing I can do about it. I can't stand by and watch him fall even more in love with someone who isn't me. I have to get out of here."

Troy actually looked sad at that revelation. "Where are you going?"

"New York. My family is up there. My mom, mainly."

Troy nodded, but I couldn't overlook the hurt expression that passed through his eyes. "Don't move all the way across the country, Gabriella. Please?"

"Why, Troy? I need to get away from here. There's just too much. And besides…you won't even notice I'm gone."

"Of course I will! How could I not?"

"Troy, you've got your life now. Your life as you move on from Sara and move on with this other girl who has claimed your heart. You don't need me around. You'll be so busy, you'll never realize that I'm not really here. But we can still talk."

I chanced a look right in Troy's eyes and noticed them looking glassy. "How can you say that, Gabriella? I do need you around. You have no idea how much I need you. And I may regret saying this later, but that girl? That one that I told you I'm in love with? She's actually trying to throw away her chance at being with me because she wants to move clear across the country from me. But I need her to know one thing…" Troy grabbed both sides of my face as realization finally donned. "…she needs to know that I would travel to the ends of the earth if it meant that I could stay by her side."

I had tears running down my cheeks. "Really?"

"Really. I love you so much, Gabriella. And I don't know if you feel the same way for me, but if it means I will at least get to see you, I would move to New York just to be near you." I just sat there with Troy's hands still on my face, tears running down my face, as I took all his words in. I was shocked. I never thought he actually felt the same way for me that I felt about him. "Gabriella, I can't live one day without you in my life. This past week was absolute torture when you wouldn't answer my phone calls. I missed you so much. And it literally hurts to even think about you not being here. I hope I didn't make things awkward between us because as much as it hurts to say this, I want us to at least stay friends because I need you in my life in some way."

Troy's thumbs wiped away some of my tears before he removed his hands from my face. I swallowed and cleared my throat before responding. "And what if I don't want to be friends?"

Pain was evident as I looked into Troy's eyes. He sat there and stared at me, tears springing to his eyes as well. "Then I won't have a reason to live."

I hurt for him with that statement. "What if I don't want to be just your friend? What if I want to be much more?"

I saw Troy looking back and forth between my eyes, questions in his eyes as he searched to be sure he heard me correctly. "What?" he whispered.

"What if I want to be much more than friends, Troy. What then?"

A smile broke out on Troy's face. "Then I would be the happiest man on earth."

I smiled at Troy, reaching up to wrap my arms around Troy's neck. "Troy, I love you, too. So much. I can't imagine my life without you in it either. I don't ever want to be without you."

Troy leaned down and kissed me, a smirk on his face. I deepened the kiss, enjoying the feeling of finally having his lips on mine after all this time of longing for him.

When he pulled back, he reached up to brush some hair out of my face. "There is still this problem of you moving to New York that we need to talk about."

My heart sank then. I had momentarily forgot about my moving. How were we supposed to have a long distance relationship when I am moving at the very beginning of it?

Troy must have seen my expression change because he immediately tightened his arms around me. "Hey…don't worry about it. We'll figure it out. We'll be fine. Believe me…" He pulled me even closer to him. "…I'm not letting you go that easily." Troy smirked at me, making me smile back at him. I nodded at him, knowing he was right.

"We can do this."

"We sure can. Now…when are you supposed to be leaving? How long do I have until I have to give you up to New York?"

"Well the moving trucks will be here tomorrow to take all this stuff," I said, gesturing to all the boxes stacked around us. "Then I have a flight out there on Monday."

"Okay…so two days?" I nodded. "Well, we should make the most of the time, then. What do you have left to do before the moving trucks get here?"

"I just have some of my clothes to pack."

Troy helped me finish packing before he left for the day, saying he would be back the following morning. We spent every waking moment together before I left on Monday. He drove me to the airport, both of us in tears as we said our goodbyes. He promised me we would see each other again soon, though.

**Please leave a review! Third and final chapter should be up soon. Thanks so much for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

I had already been in New York for a month and I was missing Troy like crazy. I had gotten settled into my new apartment and enjoyed getting to see my family more, especially my mom. My job was going really well and I had settled in there with my new co-workers.

It was currently a Friday night and I was getting ready for a boring weekend at home by myself. I had no plans to go anywhere, so I had rented some movies and planned to just watch those all weekend. I ordered a pizza after work and was waiting on it to arrive. When I heard the doorbell ring, I grabbed my wallet and headed for the door, opening it while opening my wallet to get out the money.

"How much do I owe?" I asked, looking in my wallet.

"How about a kiss?"

I looked up in shock, but was even more surprised to find that the pizza delivery guy was none other than Troy.

"Oh my gosh!" I said, flinging my wallet to the ground, not caring about it and its contents.

I flung myself into Troy's arms as he held the pizza I had ordered, obviously having met the pizza guy outside.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"What? I can't surprise my sexy girlfriend?"

I blushed at his words. "You know that's not what I meant! But seriously…why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"And miss that priceless look on your face? I don't think so!" Troy laughed and wrapped his free arm around me, pulling me closer to him. "I'm here because of you. I wanted to see you. You don't have plans, do you?"

"Well if you count sitting here all weekend watching chick flicks and being completely bored out of my mind while missing my handsome boyfriend…"

Troy laughed. I just couldn't believe he was actually here! I grabbed the pizza and his hand and led him into the kitchen, setting the pizza down on the counter. I was starving! I reached in and grabbed a piece. I was about to take a bite when it was ripped from my hands.

"Hey! I was about to eat that!" I glared at Troy.

He stood there smirking. He laid the pizza back in the box before leaning down next to my ear, whispering. "I still haven't gotten my kiss."

I smirked at him, leaning up to give him a peck on the lips before turning back around, grabbing my pizza, and running to the couch giggling. Once I sat down, I looked back around to where he was still standing, staring at me with a look in his eyes I had never seen before…a hunger, desire. It made a shiver go through my body.

Troy slowly walked over to where I was, bending down in front of me so he was at eye level, just mere inches from me as he caged me in on the couch with one hand on the arm of the couch, one on the back. My breath caught in my throat at his proximity.

"You know that's not what I meant," he said, a slight growl to his voice.

"Well I guess you'll just have to wait, won't you?" I said, a smirk on my face. "It will just have to wait until after I've eaten my pizza. I'm starved, you know. You wouldn't want to deprive me of food, would you?" I took a bite of my pizza, still looking him in the eye.

He pushed off the couch, moving to sit next to me, never taking his eyes off me the entire time I was eating.

"Are you going to sit there and stare at me all night, or are you going to help me eat this pizza?"

Troy let out a sigh before leaning over to grab a piece of pizza. "You're killing me here, you know this right?"

"Of course," I said, grinning.

We finished up the pizza, both of us getting into the movie that had come on the TV. I scooted over, snuggling up to Troy.

The next thing I knew, Troy was waking me up and taking me to bed. He carried me into my bedroom and laid me down on the bed, kissing my forehead. He turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

He turned back around and looked at me as he got ready to turn out the light. "I'm going to grab my stuff and go over to the hotel. I'll be back first thing in the morning."

"Uh uh. I don't think so. Get your butt over here, now. You're staying here. I have limited time with you and there's no way I'm going to give up any minute of it for you to go to some hotel."

Troy saluted me. "Yes, ma'am." He turned off the light before walking back over to the bed.

"I need to get some more comfortable clothes on, though, before I actually go to bed," I said, standing up and walking to my dresser to pull out some clothes. I started to change right there when I noticed Troy staring at me. I stopped what I was doing, locking eyes with him. He slowly made his way across the room to stand in front of me.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, trailing his fingertip down the side of my face. "Now how about that kiss?" He leaned in and kissed me, a kiss full of pent up passion and desire. Troy deepened the kiss as I wrapped my arms around his neck, tightening his arms around me and pulling me even closer to him, if that was even possible.

I felt Troy guiding me backwards toward my bed. The backs of my legs hit the bed and I felt myself fall backwards onto the bed before Troy lit softly on me, our lips immediately fused together once again. I felt Troy's hands trailing down my sides and back up again, bringing my shirt up slightly with them.

Gosh, I had missed him! His kisses slowly made their way down my jaw line and neck to the skin of my chest that was left exposed by my shirt. He pulled back and looked at me. I could see all the love he held for me in his eyes. I felt his hands once again trail down to the bottom of my shirt before dragging it upwards, slowly.

I lifted my arms to allow him to slip my shirt completely off before reaching out and repeating the actions with him, throwing his shirt across the room. He resumed the kissing where he left off, starting with my collarbone and working his way down to the newly exposed skin.

I couldn't believe the feelings he was igniting in me. I had only dreamed of times like this with him. I felt him reaching around to unhook my bra, taking it and tossing it to join the shirts on the floor. I leaned up and captured his lips once again, enjoying the feeling of our bare chests pressed against each other.

Troy laid me back on the bed once again as we continued our assault on one another. The remaining clothing soon met the floor as our bodies united for the first time.

I looked up at Troy as he pushed into me, his eyes full of love and desire.

"I love you, so much, Gabriella."

I sighed. "I love you, too, Troy. I've missed you so much." I pulled his head down closer to me, joining our lips in a passionate kiss as we continued to show how much we had missed each other.

Later as we both laid in bed, bodies tangled together, we both fought off the exhaustion that was trying to overtake us. I turned my head to the side and pressed a kiss to Troy's chest.

"Thank you for coming this weekend. I've missed you."

Troy looked down to meet my gaze. "I've missed you, too. I couldn't wait to see you."

"So what made you come this weekend? Not that I'm complaining…" I said, quickly clarifying.

"Well actually I have some news I wanted to share with you."

I sat up in bed a little more so I could see him better. "What is it?" I asked,

"I've been transferred. I won't be in Albuquerque any longer."

"What? Why?"

"Well this girl once told me that she wasn't happy there any longer because she didn't think the man she loved, loved her in return. So she asked to get transferred to New York." I blushed as he related to me what I had once told him. "Well it's much the same for me now. The woman I love doesn't live there anymore and I can't be happy there anymore."

I smiled slightly at him at his admission. I leaned up and kissed him. "I'm sorry…if only I had known how you felt before I had impulsively made the decision to up and move, we wouldn't be in this predicament."

Troy shook his head at me. "No…don't blame this on yourself. You didn't know. If I had just told you sooner how I felt about you…."

I laughed. "Seems we're both at fault."

Troy nodded. "Yes."

"So you have yet to tell me where you're going. Surely it couldn't take you any further away from me than you already are…" I said, thinking about all the places he could be moving to.

"No, actually we'll be much closer…" I nodded at him, urging him to continue. "If I have my way, we'll be able to lay here like this every night…"

My eyes grew wide at what he said. "You mean…?" I couldn't finish my question.

Troy nodded at me, his eyes shining. "I asked for a transfer to the office here in New York."

I squealed at that. I leaned up and planted kisses all over Troy's face. "Oh my gosh, Troy. I love you! I love you! I love you!"

Troy laughed. "I love you, too, baby. I just couldn't stand to be away from you."

"I can't believe you transferred all the way across the country for me, though," I said, tears springing to my eyes.

"Hey, please don't cry," Troy said, wiping the tears that were starting to spill from my eyes. "I told you I would travel to the ends of the earth in order to be with you."

I sniffled and smiled at him. "I know…but still…no one has ever done anything like this for me before."

"I love you, Gabriella, and I want to be with you. And I really don't care where that is, as long as you're there." He leaned down and captured my lips with his before pulling me back down into him to settle down into the bed.

We laid there for a few minutes before I spoke again.

"So when are you moving up here?"

"Tomorrow."

I sat back up so I could look at him. He had a serious expression on his face. "Really?" He nodded. "Tomorrow?" He nodded again. "How long have you been planning this?"

"Since the moment you left the airport in Albuquerque."

I smiled. "I can't believe you didn't tell me! So I guess you have an apartment and everything?"

"Well…that's something I haven't exactly gotten worked out yet…"

I was confused. "Oh…so where are you moving to?"

"Well actually I have a place in mind…I just have to get it approved first." I looked at him, still confused. He continued, "Gabriella…what would you think about me moving in here? I mean if you're not okay with it then just say the word…it was just a suggestion."

"Of course you can move in here!" I said.

But Troy apparently didn't hear me. He just kept rambling. "I'll understand if you don't want me to. I just thought that it would give us more time together because I miss you so much when I'm not with you." I sat there and laughed at him, watching him just ramble on an on.

"Troy…"

"But if you prefer to be by yourself, that's okay too…"

"Troy!" I said louder.

"Huh?"

"I said you can move in here."

"Really?" he asked.

"Of course. I would love for you to move in here."

A wide grin broke out on Troy's face as he pulled me back down for another kiss. "I love you, you know that right?"

"And I love you," I said, not able to wipe the smile off my face, a smile that only Troy could put there.

"The moving truck will be here tomorrow. I left most of my furniture in Albuquerque with my parents, hoping you'd let me stay here, but it was still there in case I needed to find a place of my own…"

"I can't think of a place I'd rather have you. You do realize that you'll have to face my mother at some point, though. I know she won't approve of us living together, but who cares! She does, however, approve of us together. Her words were 'Finally! I didn't think it'd ever happen!'."

Troy laughed but quickly grew serious. "I didn't think it would either."

"But it did, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I don't ever want to be without you, Troy."

"What if we didn't have to be?"

"I'd be more than happy. You know I want to be with you forever."

"Then what would you say if I asked you to marry me?"

"What?" I was shocked. I hadn't expected that so soon. "Are you sure, Troy?"

"Positive. I don't want anyone but you Gabriella."

I looked at him, knowing he was serious. "I would tell you that I would like nothing more than to marry you."

"Really?" I nodded. Troy's grin lit up his face. "Yes!" He pumped his fist in the air before kissing me quickly and jumping out of bed.

"Where are you going?"

"I'll be right back."

I heard him digging around in the living room before coming back. I appreciated seeing all of him as he made his way back, naked, to the bed with something in his hand.

"What is that?" I asked, pointing to the object that was nearly concealed by his hand. He opened his hand and I gasped as I saw what it was. "Troy…how long have you had that?"

"I told you I've been planning this since you left Albuquerque." He grinned before taking the ring out of its box. "Just to be sure…Gabriella, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" I said as Troy grabbed my left hand and slipped the ring on.

I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss…which is how the rest of the night went.

On Sunday, Troy and I got up and finished putting away some of his stuff that had been unloaded from the truck. He didn't bring much, knowing that I had a fully furnished apartment, so it wasn't that hard to get him moved in.

I had made arrangements to have dinner with my mom that evening. She still didn't know that Troy was even in town, so I was going to break all the big news to her before Troy joined us.

We met at a local Italian restaurant that we usually went to when we met up. Before I had even had the chance to say anything to her about Troy, she spotted my ring.

"Gabriella," she said, pulling my left hand closer to her to look at the ring better. "Why do you have an engagement ring on?"

"Because I'm engaged?" I said, making it sound more like a question.

"What? I thought you were in love with Troy? What happened to him? Who is this guy?"

I rolled my eyes at her. She was already jumping to conclusions, but I decided to have a little fun with it. "Well, actually I'm engaged to the guy who just recently started living with me."

"What? Are you serious? Gabriella you know how I feel about living with a man before you're married." She went off on a long spill about how she didn't agree with us living together. She just kept going on and on, so I took the opportunity to text Troy and tell him to get his butt in there before it got any worse. "Are you listening to me, Gabriella?"

"Yes, Mother, I'm listening."

"Don't use that tone with me!" She stopped and took a sip of her water, never taking her stern gaze off of me. "So who is he? If he can afford a ring like that, why can't he afford his own place?"

"Well it wasn't that I couldn't afford my own place, I just wanted to be with Gabriella," Troy said as he approached the table. I looked up and smiled at him, relieved he was finally there to help me out. He pulled his chair closer to me, sitting down and wrapping an arm around me. "Hi, Ms. Montez. How are you doing?"

"Troy? I'm doing fine. How are you?"

"I'm doing very well," he said, looking over at me and winking.

"Gabriella, why didn't you tell me it was Troy?"

"Would it have made a difference?" I asked.

"Are you kidding? It makes all the difference in the world!"

My mouth dropped open at her admission. Troy started laughing at my expression. And that was much how our dinner went. It got much better after that, though. Once my mom realized I was engaged to Troy she wanted to talk about wedding plans. She even said that she was okay with us living together, making some excuse about us having been apart for too long as it was. Was this seriously my mother? Guess that goes to show just how much she thinks of Troy.

Over the next several months, my mom helped me plan my and Troy's wedding. We were going to have an early summer wedding. Troy and I could barely wait for it.

When the day of the wedding arrived, I was standing in the Bride's Room at the church where the ceremony was to be held. Taylor and Kelsi had flown out from Albuquerque to be my bridesmaids and were both there with me.

"Is this really happening, guys?" I asked as I looked at myself in the mirror, still unable to believe I was standing there in a wedding dress about to marry the one man who I never thought I would have a chance with.

Kelsi smiled at me in the mirror. "It is happening, Gabriella. I can hardly believe it myself, but it really is. I'm so happy for you two!"

"Thanks, Kels." I continued to look at myself in the mirror. The more I looked at myself, the more I doubted that this was actually going to happen. Why would Troy want to marry me? What if someone else had come along that he had fallen in love with? What if he walked out on me the same way he walked out on Sara? "Have you seen Troy?"

"No, why?" Taylor asked. I began to panic. What if he didn't show up at all.

I turned around to face her. "Do you know if he's here?" I asked, trying not to sound nervous.

"I'm sure he is, Gabriella. Why wouldn't he be?"

I turned and looked again in the mirror at my dress. I started to get tears in my eyes. "What if he doesn't show up? What if he doesn't want to marry me? Why would he want to marry me anyway? He walked out on Sara and she was so much better than I ever could be. Why should he want to go through with this wedding?"

Taylor walked over to me and put an arm around me, looking at me through the mirror. "Gabriella, that man is head over heels for you and has been ever since I can remember. He didn't go through with his wedding with Sara because of that very reason. He loves you. He always has and he always will."

"But what if he's changed his mind? What if he's standing out there debating the same thing he debated the day of his wedding with Sara?" By now I had tears streaming down my face. "I need to talk to him." I picked up my dress and was headed for the door when Taylor's voice stopped me.

"Gabriella, you know you can't see him before the wedding."

"I don't care about all that. I need to talk to him. I need to make sure he hasn't changed his mind. I'd rather he changed his mind now, though, instead of leaving me to walk to an empty altar." Before Taylor could say any more, I picked up my dress and ran out the door in search of the room where I knew Troy would be located. I quickly found it with his two groomsmen waiting outside.

"Hey, Gabriella. What are you doing?" Chad said.

"I need to talk to Troy. Is he in there?"

"Yeah, but you can't go in there. It's bad luck!" the other groomsmen, Zeke said.

"Forget all that, I have to talk to him."

"You aren't having second thoughts are you?" Chad looked over at Zeke then back at me, a nervous look on his face.

"Of course not. Now open the door before."

Chad nodded slowly before opening the door for me. I quietly slipped into the room. Troy was standing on the far side of the room with his back to me looking out the window.

"I hope that if any of those thoughts are about me that they are good ones," I said, walking closer to him. He hadn't even turned around when I came in, probably assuming it was one of the guys.

He whipped around at the sound of my voice and looked at me, surprised.

"What are you doing here? You do realize we're not supposed to see each other before the ceremony, right?"

"Yeah," I said, quietly, looking down. I looked back up and locked gazes with him. "But I had to see you and make sure we were still going through with this."

"Going through with this? What do you mean? Of course we are…unless you're having second thoughts." Troy's eyes held a nervous and panicked look.

I walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Of course I still want to go through with it…"

"Then what is all this about? Why would you ask such a thing?"

I looked down. "I just was afraid that you might have found someone else…someone better."

"What? Gabriella, there is no one better. If you told me right now that you didn't want to marry me, that would be it for me. I would have to live the rest of my life alone because there is no one else out there for me. It's either you or no one. I don't ever want to imagine one day of my life without you by my side. That month that we were apart was absolute hell for me and I never want to go through that again."

I was crying again by the time he finished talking. He reached up with his handkerchief and dabbed my cheeks to rid them of the tears. "I love you so much, Troy. I was just afraid because of what happened last time…"

Troy looked at me and shook his head. "Last time was because of you, and this time I'm going through with it because of you. I love _you_, Gabriella. Only you. And either we go out there and get married or I never get married at all. So what's it going to be?"

I looked at him and smiled. "Let's get married!"

A grin spread wide on his face. He leaned down to kiss me, but I pulled back. "Uh, uh…No kisses until the ceremony!"

His face quickly turned into a pout as he looked at me.

"Now…I need to go freshen my makeup…but I will me you, sir, at the end of the aisle."

"You can count on it," he said with a wink as I turned to walk back out the door.

When I got back to my room, Taylor and Kelsi were nervously pacing the room. They immediately stopped and looked at me as I walked in.

"Girls, I need some help. I think I've ruined my makeup."

Smiled spread across their faces as they jumped into gear grabbing tissues and makeup to touch me up before it was time to walk down that aisle.

Fifteen minutes later, I found myself waiting at the back of the church for my music to sound. My mom was walking me down the aisle to the man I love. I couldn't believe that he chose me. Of all the women in the world, he chose to have me by his side for the rest of our lives.

As our ceremony took place and the pastor said his words, I couldn't help but think how Troy and I actually got to this place in our lives. It was all by the choices we made. If one little choice had been different, we may not have gotten to this exact moment. One little choice could have effected whether we ever got together or not. One little choice was the difference between the present and our future together.

**Well there it is. I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave me a review and let me know your thoughts.**

**I'm working on a couple more stories...not sure where they're headed though. I've gotten most of them written, but have had a writer's block in a couple of spots. Hopefully I'll have another story out soon.**


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